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Walsall
League Two | Gameweek 29
Mar 7, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
The Banks's Stadium
Bradford City

Walsall
0 - 0
Bradford


Daniels (90')
FT

Stubbs (61'), Halliday (69'), Smallwood (87')

Preview: Walsall vs. Bradford City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's League Two clash between Walsall and Bradford City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

The League Two season continues in midweek as promotion-chasing Bradford City travel to mid-table Walsall on Tuesday night.

The hosts were beaten 1-0 at home to Barrow on Saturday, whilst the Yorkshire side secured a 2-0 win over Colchester United at the University of Bradford Stadium.

Walsall sit in 14th ahead of the meeting with City and their visitors are fifth in the League Two table.


Match preview

Walsall's manager Michael Flynn applauds fans before the match on January 8, 2023© Reuters

Michael Flynn's Walsall cannot buy three points at the moment - the loss to Barrow at the weekend was the 10th game in a row that the West Midlanders have failed to win.

Prior to the defeat last time out the Saddlers had drawn six successive matches, a run which has left them firmly in the bottom half of League Two.

Walsall also have a dreadful recent record against Tuesday night's opponents, as they have won only one of their last 13 clashes with the Bantams.

Flynn's side are looking to avoid losing both league games against City for the first time since 1988-89 following a 2-1 reverse at the University of Bradford Stadium in September.

The return of striker Danny Johnson to his parent club Mansfield Town in January was a huge blow for Walsall, as the striker scored 15 goals in 30 appearances for the Saddlers and could possibly have spearheaded a promotion charge had he stayed on loan for the rest of the season.

Mark Hughes in charge of Stoke City on May 13, 2018© Reuters

Mark Hughes's Bradford are loving life right now - they have lost just one of their last eight games and have claimed maximum points in five of their last six fixtures.

Fifth-placed City are now only three points behind Stevenage in the last automatic promotion place after three successive victories, the latest of which came against Colchester on Saturday.

The Bantams' ambitions this season have been built on terrific form on the road, as they are joint-top of the away league table in terms of wins having recorded nine in their 17 matches.

The West Yorkshire outfit have won the last three on their travels and are looking to win 10 such games for the first time since 1998-99 when they were promoted to the Premier League.

Andy Cook has led Bradford's charge up the table recently, as the striker has scored six times in his last seven. The 32-year-old has also netted on three ocacasions in this fixture having spent one season at Walsall in 2018-19, and he will need to maintain his form if the Bantams are to reach League One.

Walsall League Two form:

Bradford City League Two form:


Team News

Walsall's Conor Wilkinson could start upfront on Tuesday after returning from a knee injury as a substitute against Colchester.

Liam Gordon, Jacob Maddox and Robbie Willmott are also pushing for starting berths after they each came off the bench on Saturday.

Tom Knowles should keep his place in the number 10 role of Flynn's 3-4-1-2 system despite failing to add to his goals or assists numbers last time out.

The Bantams will be without Jamie Walker who has a knee injury, so Harry Chapman could replace him in the attacking midfield position just behind forwards Cook and Dara Costelloe.

Adam Clayton, Richard Smallwood and Alex Gilliead should all retain their spots in the 11 despite all three of them being substituted in the previous match.

Walsall possible starting lineup:
Evans; McEntee, Monthe, Daniels; Willmott, Maddox, Comely, Gordon; Knowles; Wilkinson, Hutchinson

Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Halliday, Platt, Stubbs, Ridehalgh; Smallwood, Clayton, Gilliead; Chapman; Cook, Costelloe


SM words green background

We say: Walsall 0-2 Bradford City

Bradford have their sights set firmly on the top three and their fantastic away form combined with Walsall's awful recent results means there should only be one winner here.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data


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Written by
Ollie Hawthorn

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Game History

How you voted: Walsall vs Bradford

Walsall
24.2%
Draw
9.1%
Bradford City
66.7%
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Stevenage's Dean Campbell celebrates scoring their second goal on January 8, 2023
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Walsall21144339192046
2Port Vale2210752721637
3Doncaster RoversDoncaster2210663126536
4Crewe AlexandraCrewe219842518735
5AFC Wimbledon21104732181434
6Chesterfield2297636251134
7Notts County219753021934
8Grimsby Town22111103034-434
9Salford City219662519633
10Bradford CityBradford218762623331
11MK Dons209383328530
12Bromley217953025530
13Gillingham219392220230
14Cheltenham TownCheltenham228683131030
15Colchester UnitedColchester2151152522326
16Fleetwood TownFleetwood206862625126
17BarrowBarrow217592021-126
18Newport CountyNewport217592936-726
19Tranmere RoversTranmere205691529-1421
20Harrogate TownHarrogate2263131834-1621
21Swindon TownSwindon2248102736-920
22Accrington StanleyAccrington204792636-1019
23Morecambe2245132038-1817
24Carlisle UnitedCarlisle2136121533-1815


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